Thursday, August 04, 2016

Fantasia ’16: Earth is Not Room Enough (short)

It
echoes an Asimov title and the Groundhogs’ Space-rock, but the inspiration for
this trippy short is much more Sun Ra and a bit of Parliament-Funkadelic. Space
is the place and the way to get there is through music—glorious analog music. A
hipster crate-digger will try to hitch a ride to the galactic spaceways through
the grooves of some ultra-rare LPs in Joe Losurdo’s short film Earth is not Room Enough, which screened
during the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.

The
sight of a box of vinyl records left out with the trash will always stop Sam
dead in his tracks, as it would any normal person. In this case, the landlord
is happy to be rid of his absconded tenant’s property and even throws in some
high-end stereo equipment. It turns out the mysterious Dr. Stitch was working on
some bizarre experiments in sound, using the groovy, limited press-run,
hand-painted LPs Sam couldn’t wait to spin. Using the missing physicist’s notes
as a guide, Sam tries to recreate his weird audio regimen. The results are
truly cosmic.

If
you know your Sun Ra and related artists, you will flip for EINRE. It looks great, sounds great, and
offers enticing hints of a potentially rich and far-ranging original Afrofuturist
mythology. It also reminds viewers of the exhilarating feeling you get when you
discover a strange and scarce record for little or nothing—and who can’t relate
to that.

As
Sam the record collector, Sam Porter perfectly captures that indomitable enthusiasm,
while Travis Travis instantly intrigues and mystifies as Dr. Stitch (seen via
VHS tapes, ‘natch). Christina Tillman’s contribution as the art and production
designer is also invaluable, beautifully realizing all that gatefold, analog
goodness.

The nostalgia is warm and inviting, while the
vibe is funky and otherworldly. Frankly, it’s just all good. Highly recommended
as a twelve-minute blast, Earth is not
Room Enough had its Canadian premiere at this year’s Fantasia.

About Me

J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Send e-mail to: jb.feedback "at" yahoo "dot" com.